Protective attachment for safes



Patented Sept. 4, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 Claims.

My invention relates to protective attachments for safes arranged for attachment to the inner panel of the safe door, and which include a frangible container of noxious gas as the means for protecting the safe from robbery.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple protective attachment, readily attachable to the inner panel of a safe door, and readily adaptable to the particular type of safe selected, whose frangible container of noxious gas will be broken whenever impact or pressure is applied to the tumblers of the safe combination tending to drive them inward.

The most frequent attempts against safes are made by knob knockers, whose method is to knock off the knob or dial of the combination lock, and then drive the tumblers far enough inward so that the latch bolts can be released and the door opened. While not preventing injury to the combination lock if the warning is disregarded and attack made, my device should prevent opening the safe, and rifling of its con tents, by releasing noxious gas to overcome the attacker.

I am aware that it is old to use one or more frangible containers of noxious gas for protection of a safe from attack; but most of such devices are built in, and therefore differ from my device, which can be attached to and made to fit any one of several different types of safes as they are now built and sold.

The object of my invention is to provide a compact attachment device, transportable readily, and with safety, capable of being attached to an ordinary safe by the use of ordinary mechan ical skill, and adaptable, by the interchange of standard parts, to a wide variety of safes as now manufactured, which, when so attached, will position the frangible containers so that they will be broken by any inward drift of the tumbler mechanism caused by attack from without, thereby protecting the contents of the safe from rifiing; and to this end my invention resides in the combination and-arrangement of parts here- 1 inafter described, and more particularly set forth in the claims.

Referring now to the drawings, which are a part of this specification, and in which like characters indicate like parts:

Fig. 1 is a front view in elevation of my attachment;

Fig. 2 is a side view in section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing my attachment in position on the inner panel of a safe door;

Fig. 3 is a detail view in perspective of the pillow clip, 21;

Fig. 4 is a bottom view in section on the line 44 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a top view in section taken on a line above the strike plate, 46, showing the panel, 20, in section taken on the diameter of the tumbler curb, 2|;

Fig. 6 is a detail side view, partly in section, showing a modified arrangement where the tumbler curb, 2la, intrudes a considerable distance beyond the panel, 20; and,

Fig. 7 is a detail view similar to Fig. 5, showing a modified arrangement where the tumbler curb, Zib, does not extend inward as far as the panel, 20.

The housing for my device is a sheet metal cover open at the front, consisting of the back, [8, top wall, II, and two side walls, whose upper portions, i3, extend inward so that their outward turned flanges, [4, are flush with the inner edge of the top wall, H, but whose lower portions, I'Z, extend inward a less distance. Each of the flanges, M, has holes, l5, through which pass screws, [6, to engage tapped holes in the inner panel, 20, of the safe door, thereby fastening my attachment to said panel. I prefer to brace the top wall, H, with an angle iron, [1, attached to it, and to the back, ill, by rivets, l8. From this it will be seen that the bottom of my housing is open, there being no bottom wall. The back, or inner side of the housing may be given an attractive finish, such as baked enamel.

The tumbler curb, 2|, which is the inner end of the tumbler mechanism, ordinarily extends inward only slightly beyond the panel, 20; but in other safes the tumbler curb, 2m, may extend beyond for a considerable distance; and in others the tumbler curb, 2th, may not extend inward as far as the panel, 20. As hereinafter shown I provide a modification of my device to fit either of these conditions.

Secured to the housing are two frangible containers of noxious gas, in liquified form having barrel portions, 23, and tapered ends, 25, terminating inseals, 26. These containers are disposed in the corners of the housing formed by back, l0, and side walls, [3. A pillow clip, 21, is placed upon the inner surface of the back, iii, and has a bent over edge, 28, to contact the tapered ends, 25, near the barrel portions, 24; and further has a slot, 29, through which is passed a bolt, 30, extending from the back, IE], and provided with a washer, 3i, and nut, 32, by which the pillow clip, 27, is fastened in position so that the tapered ends, 25, of the containers may rest upon the bent over edge, 28.

Between the barrel portions, 24, I fasten to the inner surface of the back, Ill, the Z-shaped support clip, 33, by means of rivets, 34. To the support clip, 33, is fastened the arm, 35, by means of screws, 36, extending through holes in the arm, 35, to engage tapped holes in the support clip, 33. I consider it important that the arm, 35, should be readily removed, giving better access to the containers for replacing them.

A short portion of arm, 35, extends upward from the support clip, 33. Inward of it is slipped loosely the resilient butterfly strip, 38, bent so that on each side of the arm, 35, it is tangent to, and in contact with, barrels, 24, of the frangible containers, thereby holding them in place in the corners of the housing.

Lower down the arm, 35, has an offset bend, 39, to conform to the tapered portions, 25, of the containers; at its lower end the strike plate, 40, is mounted on its outer side so as to overlie the tapered portions, 25, and is fastened to it by a rivet, 44. Above the strike plate, 43, the arm, 35, has a hole, 4!, used in the modification shown in Fig. 6. Through the arm, 35, and strike plate, 40, below the rivet, 44, are alining holes to receive the contact bolt, 42; the hole in the strike plate, 40, being tapped. The slotted head of bolt, 42, is at the inner end, near the back, ID, of the hous ing, which has an alining hole, 43, through which thebolt head can be reached for adjustment and setting. On the bolt, 42, between the head and where the bolt passes through the arm, 35, is a lock nut, 45, serving to.lock the bolt, 42, as set for contact, and as a second means of fastening the arm, 35, to the strike plate, 46.

As shown in Figs; 2 and 5, the tumbler curb, 2|, extends only a small distance inward beyond the panel, 24. After my attachment has been fastened. to the panel, 24, by means of the screws, I6, the contact bolt, 42, can be adjusted so as to maintain contact with the tumbler curb, 2!. In making this adjustment the mechanic passes a screw driver through hole, 43, to reach the head of the bolt, 42, and engages the lock nut, 45, with a wrench inserted from underneath. When so adjusted the contact bolt, 42, is ready to impart to the strike plate, 40, any inward drift of the tumbler mechanism under attack, and thereby causes the tapered ends, 25, of the frangible containers to be broken. These containers are ordinarily of glass, and are closed at the top as well as sealed at the ends, 26, of the tapered portion.

It will be noted that the arm, 35, mounted on support clip, 33, is resilient, and may move toward or from the tapered ends, 25, but normally holds the strike plate, 43, in resilient contact with these tapered ends.

For the type of safe shown in Fig. 7, in which the tumbler curb, 21b, does not reach to the panel, 20, I provide, instead of the bolt, 42, a bolt, 42b, of sufficient length to pass through a hole in the panel, 20, and make contact with the tumbler curb, 2 lb.

But, for the type of safe shown in Fig. 6, in which the tumbler curb, 2 la, extends a considerable distance beyond the panel, 25, I provide a Z-shaped clip, or finger, 46, Whose inner end may extend over and contact the tumbler curb, 2m, and whose outer end is fastened to strike plate, 40, and arm, 35, at the lower end of said arm.

This outer or upper end of the finger, 46, has three holes, one near the bend to provide for the bolt, 42, one very near the outer or upper end to aline with the hole, 4|, in the arm, 35, and a third hole, 47, midway between the other two holes, aliningwith the rivet, 44, and countersunk on that side of the finger, 46, which is next to the arm, 35, so as to provide a recess to accommodate the rivet, 44, and permit the finger, 46, to lie flat against the arm, 35. In attaching the finger, 46, the bolt, 42, with its locknut, 45, is first removed, and then re-inserted so that it passes through the holes in the finger, 46, and arm, 35, and is threaded into the tapped hole in the strike plate, 40. A rivet, 49, is then passed through the hole, 4!, and the alining hole in the finger, 46, and fastened to hold the finger, 46, at its upper end, and the locknut, 45, is turned down to press down upon it. It will be noted that for this arrangement it is necessary to mount my attachment higher on panel, 20, than is shown in Fig. 2 so that the lower end of the back, I ll, of the housing may be clear of the tumbler curb, 2 l a.

It may be necessary in making this installation to try several fingers, 43, of greater or less depth, befor choosing one to fit, or to bend a finger of proper depth on location, which can be done with mechanics tools, such as vise and hammer.

Upon the front surface of the safe door I afiix a warning label, not shown, to indicate to all persons who may approach the safe that noxious gas will be released if the containers are broken under attack, or by accident.

The proper method of installing my attachment, and its operation as a protective device the safe is attacked, have been explained in the foregoing.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. A housing for attachment to the inner panel of a safe door, one or more frangible containers of noxious gas firmly mounted upon the inside of said housing, a swinging arm mounted upon said housing by resilient means, a plate disposed upon said swinging arm outward from and contacting said containers, and means upon said plate adjustable for maintaining contact with the inward surface of the tumbler curb of the safe combination lock.

2. A housing for attachment to the inner panel of a safe door, one or more frangible containers of noxious gas firmly mounted upon the inside of said housing, a swinging arm mounted upon said housing by resilient means, a plate disposed upon said swinging arm outward from and contacting said containers, and means upon said plate, accessible from without said housing, for adjustment, and adjustable for maintaining contact with the inner surface of the tumbler curb of the safe combination lock.

3. In an attachment to be fastened to a safe door, a housing having back and side walls, frangible containers of noxious gas disposed on each side to contact the back and one side Wall, a support clip upon said back, between saidcontainers, a swinging arm, upon which may be mounted means for breaking said containers, itself mounted upon said support clip, and having its upper end extending beyond said support, and a resilient strip under said upper end pressing each container toward the back and side wall which it contacts.

4. In an attachment to be fastened to a safe door, a housing having a back and side walls, frangible containers of noxious gas, each having a barrel portion and a tapered portion, disposed on each side so that the barrel portion contacts the back and one side wall, a pillow clip, movable into contact with said tapered portions, and fastened to said back, an arm portion between said containers, supported upon means attached to said back, and a resilient strip under said arm portion pressing each container toward the back and side wall which it contacts.

5. A housing for attachment to the inner panel of a safe door, frangible containers of noxious gas firmly mounted upon the inside of said housing, a resilient support clip mounted upon said housing between said containers, a swinging arm upon said support clip, a plate upon said arm, outward from, extending over, and in resilient contact with said containers, and means upon said plate, accessible from without said housing for adjustment, and adjustable in order to maintain contact with the inner surface of the tumbler curb of the safe combination lock.

6. An attachment to be fastened to the inside of a safe door comprising a housing, one or more frangible containers of noxious gas firmly mounted within and upon said housing, a plate mounted outward from said containers upon means fastened to said housing, which means are arranged to yield against pressure which would move said plate inward toward said containers, and connecting means, attached to said plate, for impart- 6 ing to it any inward drift of the sare combination lock.

7. An attachment to be fastened to the inside of a safe door comprising a housing, one or more frangible containers of noxious gas firmly mounted within and upon said housing, a plate mounted outward from, and contacting said containers, upon resilient means fastened to said housing, which means are arranged to provide for swinging motion of the plate toward and from said containers, and connectingmeans, attached to said plate, for imparting to it any inward drift of the tumbler mechanism of the safe combination lock.

HARRY W. SRYGLEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,224,894 Brendler Dec. 17, 1940 2,280,553 Srygley Apr. 21, 1942 

